Every time we look behind the scenes in French kitchens, we discover an arsenal of new (and not-so-new) must-haves. Here are a few of the things we're currently coveting.
Above: The Complete Shovel and Brush, €79 ($87.99), a beautiful broom and no-stoop dustpan combo designed by Mr. and Mrs. Clynk from Andrée Jardin.
Above: Studio Caroline Gomez's asymmetrical oak Cutting Board, approximately 13.5 by 9.5 inches, leans nicely against a wall at a tilt. It's available from the designer's small Web shop for €35 ($38.98). See more of her work in her Color-Blocked Family Loft in Bordeaux.
Above: A stainless steel and bone Sommelier Wine Opener made by La Forge de Laguiole for The Cook's Atelier, a cooking school and culinary shop in Burgundy run by an American mother and daughter.
Above: In addition to hanging laundry, Pincinox Stainless Steel Clothespins are useful as recipe or placecard holders. Made by a family factory in the South of France since 1969, they're $24 for a pack of 20 from Flotsam + Fork.
Above: A Milk Bottle made of recycled glass by Sebastien de la Soufflerie is €19 ($21.16) from Merci, home to some of the best housewares browsing in Paris.
Above: Formaticum Cheese Bags, $9.95 for 15 from Sur la Table, are made in France of a special two-ply paper that preserves flavor and allows cheese to breathe. Sheets of Formaticum Cheese Papers are also available.
Above: Papier D'Armenie is a classic French air freshener with a vanilla scent. Made since 1885 in the Paris suburb of Montrouge, it's sold as booklets of papers to be torn off and tucked into a drawer or folded into an accordion and burned to chase away kitchen odors; $6.50 per booklet of 36 strips, and $60 for a box of 12 (shown) from Flotsam + Fork. Papier D'Armenie is also available from Brook Farm General Store.
Above: For kitchen and bathroom, French Wall-Mounted Soap is $49 at Kaufmann Mercantile; replacement vegetable-based soap is $15.
For glamorous soap dishes, see Astier de Villatte's white-glazed terracotta designs.
Above: From Poterie Renault near Orléans, a Stoneware Vinegar Pot—for making wine vinegar from wine bottle leftovers—is £70 ($108.51) at Objects of Use in Oxford, England. Williams-Sonoma offers a cork-stopped Ceramic Vinegar Pot with a pine spigot for $39.96, marked down from $49.95.
Above: The French string bag is the compact precursor to today's reusable grocery sack. For a list of our favorites, see 10 Parisian-Style Net Bags. Photograph by Aurélie Lécuyer of Le Dans La.
The Francophilia continues:
- 10 Fantastique French Kitchens
- France's Oldest—and Most Esteemed—Hardware Store
- 12 Made-in-France Kitchen Essentials
- 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from France
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